Sometimes the lessons learned in the classroom become preparation for unexpected challenges. Through Rowan University’s MA in Special Education program, students gain the tools to understand behavior, advocate for access and adapt to complex needs. For one alumnus, that education became the foundation for navigating unexpected change—and transforming it into purpose, advocacy and impact well beyond the classroom.
Teacher Advances Career Through a Master’s in Special Education
When Joshua Schneider M’18 applied to the MA Special Education program, he was looking for more than a credential. He was looking for stability, purpose and a way to keep doing the work he loved—teaching students who needed someone to meet them where they were.
What he didn’t know was that Rowan would also help prepare him for a life-changing challenge he hadn’t yet faced.
A South Jersey educator, Josh was already working in under-resourced school districts, often teaching students several grade levels behind. He felt that it was a practical next step in his career – and his educational pedagogy – to earn his master’s in special education. He knew that the degree would make him more marketable and allow him to formally do the work he was already passionate about.
“It was a very easy transition,” Joshua said. “I was already teaching small groups, already working with students who needed different approaches. Special education just made sense.”
A Lesson That Changed Everything
One foundational course within the master’s in special education program stood out immediately to him. It reshaped how Josh approached teaching—and, later, how he approached his own life.
The core idea was simple but powerful: every behavior has a reason behind it.
“That concept changed everything for me,” Josh said. “There’s always a cause. There’s always something driving behavior, even if you don’t see it right away.”
He carried that lesson into his classroom, into his relationships with students and families—and, eventually, into his own experience with disability.
Learning About Disability Before Becoming Disabled
While enrolled at Rowan, Josh began to learn about a wide range of disabilities. In one class, he met blind students for the first time in his life. The experience challenged his assumptions and broadened his understanding of how people experience disability.
At the time, he didn’t realize how personally relevant that education would soon become.
Shortly afterward, Josh began losing his vision.
Unlike many people who experience sudden disability without warning, Josh found himself uniquely prepared. Through his master’s in special education program at Rowan, he was learning about accommodations, adaptive strategies and advocacy in real time. Now he was simultaneously applying these lessons to his own life.
“I was learning how to accommodate others, and I was learning how to accommodate myself,” he said. “That made all the difference.”
Adapting, Advocating and Moving Forward
As his vision changed, Josh did not retreat. Rather, he leaned into problem-solving. When reading a smartboard interactive screen became difficult, he worked with technology staff to sync devices and find alternatives. When teaching required adjustments, he made them.
His advice to students facing unexpected challenges is simple and direct: ask for what you need.
“Accommodations exist for a reason,” he said.
That mindset—self-advocacy paired with persistence—would eventually lead Josh down an entirely new path professionally.
From Educator to Advocate on the Ice
After 12 years of teaching, Josh pivoted his career and left the classroom. He embarked on a new career that leveraged the skills he developed as a teacher, as well as the theories he learned through his master’s in special education. During this time of transition, he happened to stumble across a news story that would change his life again: blind hockey.
What began as curiosity that grabbed his attention, and his ear, as he was washing dishes in the kitchen quickly became connection. Josh returned to the ice, rediscovering the sport he loved—this time as part of a community he didn’t even know existed. Blind hockey wasn’t just a game: it was belonging.
“It’s not just about playing hockey,” he said. “It’s about community. It’s about mental health. It’s about realizing you’re not alone.”
The realization led Josh to co-found an organization dedicated to growing awareness of blind hockey, creating access and building pathways for athletes who might never have known the sport was possible for them. He co-founded The Dented Puck Foundation in 2021 to do just that.
The Dented Puck Foundation
In a world that was still navigating the realities of COVID-19, The Dented Puck first launched as a podcast in late 2020, a podcast that continues today.
A national movement in inclusion, access and representation, the work of the foundation has now reached national stages, including NHL arenas. The Dented Puck Foundation hosted an Intermission skate during the New Jersey Devils game for the second time. Josh and the foundation are now taking the next steps in growing blind hockey toward the Paralympics.
The Dented Puck Foundation was created to open doors for individuals with disabilities through adaptive hockey and inclusive community programming. Founded on the belief that sport can be a powerful tool for confidence, connection and personal growth, the foundation works to remove barriers so athletes of all abilities can experience the game.
Through adaptive clinics, team programs and instructional opportunities, The Dented Puck Foundation provides access to equipment, coaching and a supportive environment designed around each participant’s needs. The focus extends beyond hockey skills, helping athletes build independence, resilience and a strong sense of belonging.
Camp Abilities NJ at Rowan University
With aligned purposes and mission, The Dented Puck Foundation partners with Camp Abilities NJ at Rowan University to host activities for children.
An evidence-based sports camp for children ages 6 to 17 with visual impairments, the organization builds children’s confidence, independence and lifelong wellness through physical activity. Hosted at Rowan University, the camp offers inclusive experiences such as canoeing, rock climbing and nutrition education, with athletes paired one-on-one with trained coaches.
As part of the program, Josh led a blind hockey lesson for Camp Abilities participants, introducing students to the sport and reinforcing the power of access, adaptability and community. Run through Rowan’s Health & Physical Education program in partnership with Health & Exercise Science, Camp Abilities also trains future educators and health professionals to support children with visual impairments—extending its impact far beyond camp.
New Jersey Blind Hockey
A natural offshoot of The Dented Puck Foundation, in 2024 Josh founded New Jersey Blind Hockey. While The Dented Puck Foundation serves as the driving force for national change, New Jersey Blind Hockey’s focus is local.
New Jersey Blind Hockey serves as the local, grassroots arm of adaptive blind hockey in New Jersey, providing players with the opportunity to experience the sport close to home while building community and access. Through teams such as Jersey Daredevils, the organization hosts local programs, competes in regional disabled hockey events and connects players to larger initiatives through the Atlantic Affiliate network.
Supported by the broader efforts of The Dented Puck Foundation, New Jersey Blind Hockey plays a critical role in bringing the game directly to players—creating inclusive, hands-on experiences that make participation possible and meaningful across the state.
Full Circle
Leading the helm at both organizations, The Dented Puck Foundation and New Jersey Blind Hockey, Josh embodies the lessons and imparts the theories he learned in his master’s in special education program.
Looking back, Josh sees Rowan as a turning point—not just academically, but personally.
“The irony is that my life was already centered around disability before I became disabled,” he said. “Rowan helped give me the tools to understand it, live it and advocate through it.”
His story is a reminder that education doesn’t just prepare students for careers—it prepares them for life, as well as its unexpected turns. And sometimes, the lessons learned in the classroom become the foundation for impact far beyond it.
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About Rowan
Since its founding in 1923, Rowan University has evolved from a teacher preparation college to a public research institution ranked among the top 100 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Rowan University offers bachelor’s through doctoral degrees and professional certificates in person and online to nearly 25,000 students through its main campus in Glassboro and its eight other locations in southern New Jersey. Rowan focuses on practical research at the intersection of health care, engineering, science and business, while ensuring excellence in undergraduate education. The University has earned national recognition for innovation; commitment to high-quality, affordable education; and the development of public-private partnerships. A Carnegie-classified R2 (high research activity) institution, Rowan is the fastest-growing public research university in the Northeast and among the nation’s top 10 fastest-growing, as reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2025, Rowan opened New Jersey’s only veterinary school and is one of only two universities in the nation to offer M.D., D.O., and D.V.M. medical degrees.